Picture Special: The moment three 22-storey blocks are demolished in just five seconds with 180 kilos of explosive

Three multi-storey blocks of flats in the south of Glasgow have been demolished in a controlled explosion to make way for a £5million regeneration in the area.

The 22-storey high-rise buildings at Tarfside Oval in Cardonald were brought down by 6,000 individual charges and 180kg of explosives.

Around 340 neighbouring properties had to be temporarily evacuated to allow the flats to be safely demolished. Several cars were left covered in dust from the blast.

The flats had become expensive and difficult to let for the Glasgow Housing Association (GHA) and were unpopular with residents. They had been the scene of several police drug raids and even a murder(c) Wullie Marr/DEADLINE NEWS

More than 6,000 individual charges and 180 kilos of explosive were used to bring down the three old apartment blocks(c) Wullie Marr/DEADLINE NEWS

The blast was so strong that around 340 neighbouring properties had to be temporarily evacuated to allow the three blocks – each 60 metres tall – to be safely demolished(c) Wullie Marr/DEADLINE NEWS

The high rise blocks of flats had lain empty for the past year and were demolished as part of a £5million regeneration in the area(c) Wullie Marr/DEADLINE NEWS

The blocks were built as far back as 1964 and any further work to repair the deteriorating interiors was deemed too expensive(c) Wullie Marr/DEADLINE NEWS

Every tenant from the blocks has been re-housed in new or upgraded homes elsewhere in the south of the city(c) Wullie Marr/DEADLINE NEWS

Alex McGuire, director of property for Glasgow Housing Association’s parent company Wheatley Group, said the demolition would make a ‘massive difference’ to the lives of the tenets and the neighbourhood (c) Wullie Marr/DEADLINE NEWS

Only three of the four blocks were brought down by controlled explosion. The last block will be mechanically dismantled using an ultra high-reach machine due to its close proximity to nearby homes(c) Wullie Marr/DEADLINE NEWS

The bottom six storeys of each of the three blocks will be demolished later using machinery(c) Wullie Marr/DEADLINE NEWS